9. Conscience as Sole Judge?

cross posted over at Vox-Nova

9. “Catholics should follow their conscience in all things...whether it’s abortion, birth control, or women’s ordination.”

It’s true — the Catechism says quite plainly, “Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. ‘He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters’” (1782).

This teaching is at the heart of what it means to have free will. But that doesn’t mean that our conscience is free from all responsibility or can be ignorant of God’s law. This is what the Catechism refers to as having a “well-formed conscience.” The Catechism assigns great responsibility to a person’s conscience:
“Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil.... It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking” (1777).

In other words, our conscience isn’t just “what we feel is right”; it’s what we judge to be right based on what we know of the teachings of God and the Church. And in order to make that judgment, we have a responsibility to study and pray over these teachings very carefully.

The Catechism has a section dedicated entirely to the careful formation of our conscience — that’s how important it is in making right decisions. And in the end, whether right or wrong, we’re still held accountable for our actions: “Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed” (1781).

When properly formed, it helps us to see when we’ve done wrong and require forgiveness of our sins. By seeking a fully-formed conscience, we actually experience great freedom, because we’re drawing closer to God’s infinite Truth. It’s not a burden or something that keeps us from doing what we want; it’s a guide to help us do what is right. “The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart” (1784).

CCC on homosexuality: “This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial…. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Deal Hudson. "12 Claims Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer." Crisis e-letter (June, 2003).

CCC